Se7en
by Madhumalati
Summary: Seven sins, seven sinners. A set of drabbles. Seventh: desire, need and the void. Eighth: incompletion, desire and inversion.
1. Sloth

_**Se7en**_

_**Sinner the first: Sanzo**_

He loves this journey, really. Now, his movement must only be physical; in each mile ticked off he can measure his aim and make the travel his achievement. Within, he is stasis, a deliberate prisoner. The best of himself sinks into inertia; the road is his excuse for not caring, not acting, not taking a stand, not _being_ anything in particular. When it is required, he acts without hesitation, but not without violent pressure. He desires nothing – works for nothing. He holds nothing – and thus needs to make no effort. Even death would be an effort, and so he lives.

* * *

A/N: this fic is inspired by Eyes of Shinigami's fic 'Seven sinners'; read it if you haven't. EoS, hope it lives up to yours! 

This was Sloth, in case anyone didn't get it. Next instalment: Greed. Guess who? Correct answers will get Saiyuki e-cookies. Characters from Reload and Gunlock only.

Merry Christmas! I know, I know, this fic isn't in the holiday spirit, but I'm feeling grim right now.


	2. Greed

_**Sinner the second – Kougaiji**_

His is the essence of greed, that he desires everything he loves while unwilling to give up what he must to get it. Gain without equivalent exchange, that is his aim; and the paradox of his desire rips him apart from the inside. One paramount aim drives him on, but his is not a soul where single-mindedness is natural or possible. So he gives in, once to this side, once to that; here, he saves, and there destroys; here, he befriends and there creates enemies. But in this deadly game of compromise, the only thing destroyed is himself.

A/N: sorry about it not being Goku, but I'm trying hard not to be obvious. The next one is Wrath. Hint: _not_ Hakkai.


	3. Wrath

**_Sinner the third: Goku_**

It's easy to forget the insanity that lies leashed by gold. The mad unreasoning urge to destroy. Scars he cannot remember create a rage that he cannot forget. It lurks at the edge of his vision, like hair in his eyes and the glint of a circlet. A slim band of metal; such an inadequate dam for power equal to that of Heaven. A soul divided into wrath and innocence, heart and dark heart coexist in tenuous separation. Let him free, and everything is red, red hate, red blood; he will colour the world the shade of his fury.

A/N: Everyone forgets Goku's own (very real) capacity for anger; I mean, you can't go apeshit the way he does unless you have some serious rage locked up in there. The next sin will be Envy. Again, points for guessing, and thanks for reviewing, 'zan and EoS!


	4. Envy I

**_Sinner the fourth: Nii _**

Envy's embrace holds him securely. Its siren song whispers the arcane secrets no one else commands, stimulates his innate genius with whispers of haunting inadequacy; forever the hidden one, second-best, less favoured. Delicious, the victories he racks against the one he hates, sweet in his soul. He cannot exist in the presence of light, and he envies its power; letting it spur him, hating its success. He who destroys a thing controls it, and by destroying everything Nii will control everything. With nothing to be compared to, he will reign supreme.

And if he is alone, the voices might stop.

A/N: sorry, PunkWolfIncarnate. But I have decided to take your suggestion; there will be a bonus Kami-sama drabble at the end of this fic. Thanks for the guess, it gave me good inspiration.


	5. Lust

_**Lust – Gyokumen**_

Too often passed over, but her ambition is catalyst to the madness of thousands. Lust comes in many forms, but it requires the same weakness; an addiction, a sweet death of principle, logic and reason on the altar of desire. Desire for the dead and desire for the power of the dead drives her onward, cocooned in fiery sensuality and hate. They meld into one integral whole, and form a weapon that in a madman's hands may well destroy a world. Like all lust, hers will destroy her, white-clad death that, like all who lust, she believes she controls. Fool.

A/N: bet nobody saw that coming. The next one is Pride, which should be fairly easy to guess, followed by Gluttony. Thanks for reading!


	6. Pride

_**Sinner the sixth: Hakkai**_

Pride becomes his reason and justification; the means – strength, determination and resolution – an end to themselves. What pride he has, to hold one death against a thousand; to kill in the name of life, to hate in the name of love, and hold himself true. To stand tall when he is breaking. To judge another's murders and resurrections when he himself did not hesitate to do the same once. The pride of conscious humility, absolute self-righteousness coexisting with guilt.He wallows in that guilt, thrives on it; it is the badge of his trauma, the pride of his carefully rebuilt soul.

A/N: not my most favourite……ah, well. So, no points for guessing Gluttony since there's only one major character left.


	7. Gluttony

_**Sinner the seventh: Gojyo**_

Gluttony is not merely physical; neither is Gojyo. Gluttony is the emptiness of the soul, fiery and self-destructive; while he may seek food and wine and blood and touch – so much touch – his insatiable need is bone-deep, his heart as starved as his skin. He skirts the edge of annihilation because danger and passion counter void; without that definition he will collapse into nothingness. In deliberate intensity he can forget her words; taboo child, hated, loveless, worthless. They burn into him, widen that chasm nothing can fill, not even the hunger for destruction and the hunger for love secreted within.

A/N: and that wraps up the formal series….Kami-sama follows in a couple of days. My thanks to EoS, zan and PunkWolfIncarnate for their thoughtful reviews.


	8. Envy II

**_Sinner the eighth: Kami-sama_**

Envy is incompletion. Envy is the hate the soul has for the apparently unattainable, warping its own fabric in desire; inverted lust. Yearning for what he does not possess, surrounding himself with toys, he becomes one himself. Undefined, desolate, the prisoner of his own desires. He is a shadow of what he wants; he knows he will fail, caught in a web beyond his capacity to understand. He is lost, a weakling, confusing appearance and ability. Power is in self, not object, but envy cannot look deeper, and his desire drives him forward; a child's confidence, and a coward's end.

A/N: Well, that's it. I think. I may be inspired to write more – witness what happened to Concealment and Through Contrasting Colours – but eep, those were unintentional. So long, and thanks for all the fish. I have ideas – bubbly, angsty ideas! – but that's for another week.


End file.
